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G. H. GOOLEYQ GRAIN WEIGHER.

N0, 443 569" Patented Dec. 30, 1890.

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0.1-1. OOOLEY.

GRAIN WEIGHER.

No. 443.569. Patented D80. 30,1890.-

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UNITED STATES PATENT CHARLES II. COOLEY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE PRATT & \VI-IITNEY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

GRAlN-WEIGHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,569, dated December 30, 1890.

Application filed July 14, 1890. Serial No. 358,642. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OHARLnsH. CooLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-l eighers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to valve mechanism for automatic grain-weighers, the object being to furnish means for more effectively handling the grain while avoiding obstructions, and also to regulate the operation of the mechanism by discharging the momentum of the opening reducing-valve against the rising scale-beam.

The invention is in part in the nature of an improvement on my prior application, Serial No. 338,544, filed January 30, 1890. It is also in part an improvement on the corresponding mechanism shown and described in. the joint application of Cooley and Richards, Serial No. 339,967, filed February 11, 1890, to which I may refer for a more particular description of those parts shown herein but not herein fully described.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of valve mechanism embodying my present improvements, some of the parts being broken away and shown in section for better illustrating the improvements. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the mechanism as seen from the left hand in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. & is a view of the reducing valve, showing the valve in the same position as it stands in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing certain modifications and showing the valves in section for illustrating their particular construction and mode of operation. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figs. 3 and 5, showing the valves and scalebeam in a diiferent position.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures.

' The frame-work for carrying the operative parts of the machine consists, as usual in this type of grain weighers, of a suitable upright frame, as'2, supporting the supply-chute H, whichconstitutes the frame-work proper for the valve mechanism and supports the scalebeam for carrying the grain-buoket and operating said valve mechanism.

The scale-beam B herein shown is supposed to be the scale-beam described and claimed in the joint application of Cooley and Richards, Serial No. 330,405, filed November .15, 1889. Said beam consists of a central shaft 50, having a bucket-supporting arm, as 21, at each end thereof. (In the drawings of this application only one said arm is shown, since this suffices for illustrating our present improvements.) Said arm 21 is furnished with the usual knife-edge 17 for carrying the hanger. The scale-beam is supported by V- shaped bearings, as 22, at each end thereof, which bearings rest on pivots or knife-edges, as 26, that are suitably supported, as by bearing 25, on the frame-work, and as more fully shown and described in said prior applications.

The valve mechanism for reducing and cutting off the flow of grain is actuated from and by the scale-beam through a valve-actuator for each valve, only one of which, however, is shown and described herein. The reducingvalve is carried by arms, as 64, that are pivoted at 61 to the supply-chute, said valve being furnished with a suitable stop, as 66, to limit its closing movement. This valve closes under the outlet of the chute II, from the front side thereof and somewhat more than half of the width thereof, as best shown in Fig. 5. The reducing-valve is actuated, according to my present improvements, by the actuator-roller 30, which is pivoted at 31 to an arm 32,which is fixed to the arm 21 of the scale-beam, as shown in Fig. 1 in top view and as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Said roller 30 bears against the cam 10, which is carried by a projecting part ll of the valvearm 64. The cam 40 being located about midway, as shown, between the valve-pivot 61 and the valve-plate, and being set inclined, substantially as shown in Fig. 4, relatively to a vertical line, and being formed concave, the resistance of the valve against the actuator 30 increases in an increasing ratio through-' out the opening stroke or movement of the reducing-valve. This feature furnishes a means for controlling the closing of the re ducing-valve to reduce the descending column of grain gradually and bring the scalebeam to rest at the poising-point quietly and without shock or any reactionary movement due to the momentum of the desending partially-loaded bucket.

Some parts of my present improven'rents do not depend upon the construction of valveactuator above described,but may be used in connection with the means for actuating the reducing-valve, which are shown in said prior application, Serial No. 839,967viz., the valvelever 69, carried on the redueingwalve, and the valve-actuating arm 71, carried by the scalebeam, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of this application.

The cut off valve is carried by arms 72 and It, pivoted at '73 to the supply-chute ll. In practice the arm '72 is continued above pivot 73 and is provided with suitable means (not shown herein) for proper] y actuating said valve from the scale-beam. The preferred means for this purpose is shown and described. in said prior application, Serial No. 339,967, to which reference maybe had for a description of the general mode of operation of said valves in connection with each other and with the other mechanism of the grain-weigher.

For closing the reducingvalve in cases where its own weight is insufficient for this purpose or insufficient for properly bearing down the scale-beam during the early part of its downward movement, said valve may be furnished with a weight \V, fixed thereto in any convenient manner-as, for instance, by a rod 13.

One of the principal features of my present improvements has for its object to reduce the vertical oscillation of the grain-bucket during the discharge of its load. This reduction is accomplished by means of an arm, as 77, fixed on the reducing-valve, and which extends rearward of the reducing-valve pivot 61 and terminates over the scale-beam arm or over some part fixed thereto-as, for instance, the actuator-carrier 32 in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4-, or the valve-actuating arm 71 shown in Figs. 5 and 6. As shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, said arm 7 7 is a rigid arm rigidly fixed to the valve; but as shown in Fig. (5 said arm is made thin, and is supposed to constitute a spring for cushioning the blow thereof against the scale-beam. When the beam is lowered, as in Fig. 5, the rearward end of the resistance-arm 77 stands at a considerable distance above the beam; but on the rising of the beam, as in Fig. (i, the outreaching arm 77 strikes the beam forcibly, and thus discharges the momentum of the opening valve against the oppositely-moving beam, so that the momentum of the valve neutralizes to a large degree that otithe beam, the result being a very great red notion in the range of the oscillatory movement of the beam and valve when these first reach their uppermost position. In practice. I find this reduction to be about one-half of the movement otherwise existing. ltwill be understood,ot course, that the stiltness of the arm 77, when this is a spring-arm, should be adjusted experimentally to produce the most favorable result for each size of grain-weigher to which the same may be ap plied.

Another feature of my present improvements consists in the combination, with the supply chute and valves, of the check-rim S0, fixed on the inner side of and at the extreme lower edge of the front wall 81 of said chute and extending abruptly inward from said walL- The purpose of this rim is to violently check the downward flow of the forward la yers of the descending column of grain and reduce the impact of such grain on the valve, thus almost entirely obviating the spattering of the grain as the column impinges upon the closing reducing-valve. This check-rim also coacts favorably in connection with the reducing-valve spatter-guard, hereinafter described. Necessarily the space a between the lower end of the spout and the reducing-valve is a considerable distance, (in practice from one-fourth to five-eighths of an inch, according to the grain for which the machine is to be use,) so that if the descending column strikes the valve with a high velocity those kernels of grain coming down next to the forward wall of the chute will be violently scattered and some of them thrown out of the machine and wasted. By means of the checkrim shown in the combination, as herein shown and described, I am able to substantially overcome that scattering and Waste.

Another feature relates to the cut-off valve, and consists of a guard-rim on the forward edge of the valve, as shown in Fig. 5, wherein both valves are closed, and said rim stands at some distance below the reducing-valve plate. The purpose of this guard-rim is twofoldfirst to furnish a means for preventing the grain, as at 95, from overflowing the valve when this valve stands at a considerable distance below the reducing-valve, and also to lessen as much as possible the area of the nearest valve-surfaces-ahat is, to reduce the horizontal width of the narrowest space 96, Fig. 5, between the cut oit and reducing valves, and thus to lessen as much as possible the liability to obstructions. This guardrim also coacts with the scatterguard of the reducing-valve on the descending grain to control the same without waste. This will appear obvious from the drawings, and especially from Fig. 1, wherein the guard 215 is shown extending within the end wall 220 of the cut-off valve and over said rim 90.

A further feature of my improvements relates to the construction and arrangement of the reducing and cut-off valves in combination with the supply-chute 1" or preventing the tendency of the grain to overflow and scatter from the ends of the valves during the early part of the reducing-valve closure, and after the reducing-valve is closed preventing the scattering of the grain on the closing cut-off valve. For this purpose the end walls 210 of the reducing-valve, as shown best in Figs. 1 to 5, are continued beyond the edge 212 of said valve to form the scatter-guard 215, which guard, on the closing of the reducing-valve, extends beyond that portion of the descending column of grain which is immediately acted upon by the valve-edge 212, thereby preventing that part of said column from being driven endwise of the valve and over the end thereof, and to prevent the natural tendency for said retarded grain to flow outward under said scatter-guard the angle at 216 between the edge 212 and said guard is formed with a curve, as shown at 216 in Fig. 1, which curved portion of the valve is a continuation of the edge 212 and lies in substantially the plane of the forward part of the valve-blade. This peculiar construction and improvement of the reducing-valve has been found by experiment to effectively overcome both of the difficulties stated.

In the practical operation of the machine there is to some extent a coaction between the features of valve construction just described and the resistance-arm 77, since the valve is carried into the column of grain by the oscillation of the scale-beam, and tends at each such entrance to scatter the grain, said oscillation being materially modified, as hereinbefore set forth, by the resistance-arm, which has the effect of making the oscillatory movement of the valve much more rapid, although shortening the range thereof.

It will be observed that the action of the cam 10 upon the scale-beam is in an oblique direction, whereby there is a lateral pressure brought upon the scale-beam-supporting knife-edge 26; but in practice the weight on said knife-edge (due to the grain-bucket and the counter=weight therefor) is relatively so great that such lateral pressure is not objectionable. The result of this construction of said cam 10, being substantially as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is that a valve of given weight aifects the beam less in a vertical direction than does the valve-lever 69. This result is deemed favorable for thelarger sizes of grainweighers.

Ilaving thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In graimweigher valve mechanism, the combination, with the scale-beam, the supply chute, anda cutoff valve for said chute, of the reducing-valve and its cam, the resistancearm on said reducing-valve, and the scatterguards at the ends of and projecting beyond the edge of the reducing-valve, whereby the oscillatory movement of the valve is reduced and the column of grain cut off without scattering, there being a vertical space between the chute and reducing-valve corresponding to the grain for the weighing of which the grain-weigher is constructed.

2. In grain-weigher valve mechanism, the combination, with the scalebeam and the reducing-valve and with means actuating said valve to open the same from the scale-beam, of a resistance-arm carried on the valve and located thereon to approach the scale-beam during the opening movement of the valve and to strike said beam in opposition thereto at the close of its upward movement, whereby the momentum of the opening valve counteracts the momentum of the beam.

3. In grain-weigher valve mechanism, the combination, with the scale-beam and the reducing-valve and with means actuating said valve to open the same from the scale-beam, of a resistance spring-arm fixed to the valve and located thereon to approach the scalebeam during the opening movement of the valve and to strike said beam in opposition thereto at the close of its upward movement, whereby the momentum of the opening valve counteracts the momentum of the beam.

4t. In grain-weigher valve mechanism, the combination, with the scale-beam and the reducing-valve, of the inclined cam 40, fixed on the reducing-valve below the axis thereof, and the valve-actuator fixed on the beam to have a movement toward and from said axis, substantially as shown, whereby the valve is actuated to be opened on the upward movement of the beam, and the pressure of the valve on the scale-beam is laterally thereof.

5. In grain-weigher valve mechanism, the combination, with the supply-chute and the reducing-valve set below said chute and having the clear space a between the valve and chute, of the check-rim fixed on the inner side and at the extreme lower edge of the chute-wall over said valve and extending from said wall into the chute, whereby to check the downward flow of the forward layers of the descending column of grain and reduce the impact thereof on the valve.

0. I11 grain-weigher valve mechanism, the.

combination, with the supply-chute and with the cut-off valve below said chute and closing from one side thereof, of the reducingvalve intermediate to the supply-chute and the cut-off valve and closing from the oppo-' site side of said chute, said reducing-valve having at the ends thereof end walls extending beyond the edge of said valve and constituting when the reducing-valve is closed seatter-guards over the closing cut-off valve.

7. In grain-weigher valve mechanism, the improved reducing-valve herein described, the same consisting in the valve-blade 60, having at the end thereof the extended end wall, and having in the angle between the valve-edge and said end-wall extension the curved edge 216 for preventing the outflow of grain under said projecting end wall.

8. In grain-weigher valve mechanism, the

combination, with the supply-chute and the reducing-valve, of the cut-off valve 70, set below and free of said reducing-valve and having the guard-rim on the forward edge there- IIO of, there being a clear space between the upper edge of said guard-rim and the reducingvalve when both valves are closed.

9. In gi'ain-weigher valve mechanism, the 5 combination, with the supply-chute and the reducing-Valve having a scattergna'rd, substantially as described, at the end and extendingbeyond the edge of said valve, of the cutoff Valve 70, having the guard-rim 90 below and free of said reducing-valve when both 10 valves are closed, the end wall of the cut-oil valve beingoutside of said scatter-guard.

CHARLES H. COOLEY. \Vitnesses:

LEWIS O. HEERMANN, HENRY L. RECKARD. 

